The New Yorkerreports (subscription-only) on the progress Freudianism has made in China.* And a fantastic Newsweek article (via Atlantic Wire) chronicles the plethora of Chinese books that, seeking to cash in on the widespread Chinese perception that Jews are good at making money (wonder where they got that idea?), cast the Talmud as something of a business Bible. “There’s even a Talmud hotel in Taiwan inspired by ‘the Talmud’s concept of success,’” we learn. “The guides are like the Chinese equivalents of books such as Sun Tzu and the Art of Business.”

The article clarifies several things. Like that this Chinese perception of the Jews is fundamentally different from the anti-Semitic perception of Jews as nefarious (and highly successful) worshippers of Mammon, and in fact has its roots in the history of Chinese business and culture. Also that the Talmud is in fact in no way whatsoever actually a book about how to make money.

The New Yorkerreports (subscription-only) on the progress Freudianism has made in China.* And a fantastic Newsweek article (via Atlantic Wire) chronicles the plethora of Chinese books that, seeking to cash in on the widespread Chinese perception that Jews are good at making money (wonder where they got that idea?), cast the Talmud as something of a business Bible. “There’s even a Talmud hotel in Taiwan inspired by ‘the Talmud’s concept of success,’” we learn. “The guides are like the Chinese equivalents of books such as Sun Tzu and the Art of Business.”

The article clarifies several things. Like that this Chinese perception of the Jews is fundamentally different from the anti-Semitic perception of Jews as nefarious (and highly successful) worshippers of Mammon, and in fact has its roots in the history of Chinese business and culture. Also that the Talmud is in fact in no way whatsoever actually a book about how to make money.